>>>>>Saved by the Fed dropping interest rates.
>>>>>
>>>>>>>My guess 4.5%
>>>>>>
>>>>>>7%
>>>>>>
>>>>>>UK down 5.5 yesterday another 3 today. Say goodbye to your pension funds again.
>>>>
>>>>How much do I owe you.
>>>>
>>>>is it 50 billion. Oh no I've already given that to Northern Rock.
>>>>
>>>>Welcome to the world of high finance. They take the profits and if it all goes pear shaped we take the loss.
>>>
>>>
>>>That debate is going on here as well, over the subprime mortgage mess. Some of the bailout proposals would mainly bail out wealthy traders who made bad bets on subprime loans.
>>
>>You may have heard about Northern Rock over here. Its been bailed out to a level that is unbelievable without any debate. A lot of the investors who piled in when the shares sank are hedge funds. Why should we support them. The government over here should never have got involved.
>
>
>Agreed. These people are professional investors. Why should the public cover their bad bets?

FTSE over here is down 2.5 % at midday . I would expect the DOW to follow suit when it opens.